John Rankin Lawson (March 5, 1871 – May 12, 1945[1][2]) was a Colorado union leader and businessman. He was the leader of District 15 of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) at the time of the Colorado Coalfield War and the Ludlow Massacre. He was convicted on May 3, 1915, of the murder of a deputy sheriff who died at Ludlow during the massacre at a trial held in Trinidad, Colorado and sentenced to life at hard labor,[3] but freed on appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court in June 1917. He served as president of the Colorado Federation of Labor and on the International Executive Board of the United Mine Workers. He was a vice-president and director of the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company (CF&I).[4]
- ^ Out of the Depths. p. 367.
- ^ "John R. Lawson (1871-1945)". History Colorado. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ "FIND LAWSON GUILTY OF STRIKE MURDER; Labor Leader Gets Life Imprisonment for Killing of Deputy Sheriff in Colorado. JURY OUT SINCE SATURDAY Labor Unions Defended Prisoner, Who Is a Member of Executive Board of United Mine Workers". The New York Times. May 3, 1915. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
- ^ "J.R. Lawson Dies; Labor Row Figure: Colorado Federation Ex-Head Freed of Murder Charge" (Obituary). The New York Times. May 12, 1945. Retrieved February 5, 2013.